


Heartbeat On Air

by loonierlovegood



Category: Gone Series - Michael Grant
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Female Character of Color, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Gay Male Character, Homophobia, M/M, Radio, Set in the real world, Surfing, alludes to violence, also like fluff tho, bro culture? so fucking gay bro, every straight guy is an awful person sorry straight guys, ladrison, sinn, violence mention, what do i tag this??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-10-17 10:13:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17558450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonierlovegood/pseuds/loonierlovegood
Summary: All it takes is hearing Diana's (aka Huntress) voice over the radio, and Astrid is in love. Sam knows that Astrid falling for Diana is tied up in his own complicated family issues, but keeps silent, wanting to give his friend the romance of her dreams. Yet things become more complicated when Sam and his boyfriend, Quinn, are caught up in a sadistic plot by Caine Soren to win back his ex.





	1. Chapter 1

Astrid was driving back from her internship with Sam, the guy she carpooled with out of convenience, when she turned on the radio. Normally, she preferred the silence of the drive, but today she was stressed from career expectations and regular expectations alike. Music seemed like a good distraction.

 

She went through several stations-usually she streamed music-before landing on one playing a song she liked, 104.5 FM.

 

The music filled the air around Astrid, making the drive more comfortable. But the song came to an end, and a DJ’s voice took the place of the soft melodies. 

 

“Hello wonderful listeners, it’s King here on 104.5 the Mix, and hopefully you enjoyed that song because it’s the last time I’ll play it for a week. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, I lost a bet to our one and only other host here:Huntress.”

 

Another voice cut in, a part of possibly-scripted banter. “Everyone needs some nice positive music every once in a while. Now, back to your regularly scheduled doom and gloom until we spice it up with something else. Up next, a new release from Imagine Dragons: Natural.”

 

Something dark and alternative played, and Astrid moved her head to the beat. It switched to a commercial after the song. Astrid turned it off, since she didn’t particularly care about jewelers, and the thought struck her to talk to the guy in the seat next to here. She’d been driving him home for a month, and didn’t know much about him beyond his name. Normally, Astrid would consider talking to him at this point awkward, a social lost cause. But the music had cleared the air, and the car might be a good place for conversation.

 

“So, why did you intern at the nuclear facility? Need some extra credits to make it into some LA school?” Astrid asked, stopping the car at an intersection.

 

“Nope. Needed something to do with my time that wasn’t dealing with family drama,” Sam said from the backseat. She saw his gaze drop as he mentioned the family drama, and was immediately curious.

 

“What sort of drama?” Astrid turned the car, a little too sharply. Her and Sam swayed in their seats. 

 

“Court case, long story.”

 

“We’ve got plenty of time,” Astrid said, glancing at the navigation app on her phone.

 

“So,” Sam began, “I sort of accidentally set my mom’s boyfriend’s arm on fire when I was cooking and there’s permanent nerve damage and stuff. He’s suing Mom now, and I’ve got to be ready for court. It’s not for a while, but it’s really stressful already, and I figured learning about stuff that could kill us any day would be a welcome distraction. You?” He sounded bored like this was a speech he’d given time after time, but also uncomfortable. People had been poking into his life too often of late. 

 

“Well, I actually do need the credits, and the experience. I want to work in nuclear engineering, like my dad,” she said, matter-of-fact. “What are you planning on doing with your life?”

 

“That’s cool,” Sam said, raising his eyebrows in polite interest. “I guess, when I grow up, I want to be a surfer.”

 

“Really?” Astrid asked. She hadn’t thought of him as a die-hard surfer, not the quiet guy in the back of the class. That being said, she didn’t know any other surfers.

 

“Yep, just spend my days riding waves without a care in the world. Wake up every morning at the crack of dawn and go down to the beach. Surf all day, some with friends, and compete every once in a while. Maybe get sponsored,” Sam said, shrugging and looking out the window.

 

“Wouldn’t you get bored of it eventually? Doing that every day? I’d start to hate the ocean if I had to surf that much. If I could surf.” She made a quick turn onto the highway. 

 

“Nah, it’s what I love doing the most. They say to do what you love, and surfing’s it for me,” Sam said, “You know what I mean?”

 

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t have anything I’m passionate about like that, though,” Astrid replied.

 

They started actually talking to each other, drifting away from small talk and into conversation. Sam and Astrid had some in common, and they didn’t run out of things to discuss. They were discussing why slang was necessary when Astrid turned onto Sam’s street. 

 

It was the beginning of a routine between Sam and Astrid. They would listen to the radio, usually 104.5 first, then either turn the station off when it went to commercial or turn it down and talk over the ads. 

 

*******

 

Although Astrid would never admit it, she was starting to like Sam. Not like  _ that,  _ just that he wasn’t a bad person to talk to. She considered him a friend. After their first conversation, he’d  made a point of taking shotgun when she drove him to and from the internship. He owned a beat-up old van, so when he drove them, Astrid was the one in the passenger seat.

 

On days like today when she was stressed out of her mind, talking with him was the highlight of her day. They were listening to the radio again, the car just out of the plant. A few songs from the “King is out of town” playlist played (the other DJ, Huntress, was covering his shifts) and then the station switched to commercial. Astrid chose to discuss the music. 

 

“You know, I think Huntress’s music taste is really good,” Astrid said, glancing out the window. “It’s nothing like mine, but somehow I really like it? It’s like she knows the songs to get into my soul. They’re all really good, and I don’t know how.”

 

“She’s got good music taste,” Sam replied, stopping the van to let a squirrel run by, “but King’s taste is more like my own. He’s more mainstream, but it’s the same sound as the small-scale bands. Funny how that happens.”

 

“Do you have any idea why she’s dating King?” Astrid asked, with a tone suggesting heavy bias against King.

 

“None at all. He must be hot or something.” There was a hint of resignation in his voice. 

 

“Well, regardless of whether he’s cute or not, there’s no reason why Huntress should date him. He’s controlling, annoying, and more trouble than he’s worth.  _ She  _ owns the station, and yet because he’s her boyfriend, he gets to play his music. She doesn’t need him as a DJ anyways, she could just fire him and hire someone new. It’s not like she needs a man to do her job.” It was a bit of a tirade, but Astrid stood by it.

 

Sam chortled. “Ok.” He didn’t want to say what he was thinking, but boy was he thinking it. 

 

Astrid looked at him. “What?”

 

“Nothing.” Sam began focusing intently on the road.

 

Astrid rolled her eyes. He could be ridiculous sometimes. But a minute later they were having an in-depth discussion about the meaning of some song lyrics.

 

 

***

 

It wasn’t the first time Astrid had lauded praise onto Huntress’s music taste.There wasn’t a song she didn’t like that the female DJ played, and Sam’s original suspicions were becoming less of suspicions and more of confirmed facts.

 

One Friday afternoon, he decided that it would be best to ask Astrid about it. He didn’t want her pining after someone she didn’t realize she was pining after. 

 

Their routine started out as usual. “Most Girls” by Hailey Steinfield played, then “Girls/Girls/Boys” by Panic! At the Disco. When the station switched to commercial, Sam leaned over and turned it off.

 

“So, speaking of that song, I have some suspicions about you liking a certain someone connected to it,” he said, leaning back to sit in his seat properly.

 

“Who? One of the band members? I don’t know that much about them.” Astrid was confused, absolutely oblivious.

 

“No,” Sam sighed. How had she not noticed how obvious it was?  “Huntress. The radio DJ you have been talking about for weeks and who you stalked on social media after I hinted that she might not be that cute. You used that picture as proof that she was cute and stared at it while we were given instructions about nuclear waste. I think there’s a chance…you might like her.” Astrid had come out to him last week as bi, which had only further confirmed his suspicions. It also made this topic a non-awkward one to breach.

 

“I don’t like her!” Astrid protested. She paused, giving the matter some thought. “Well, I don’t think so.” She stopped again. “Actually, now that you mention it…”

 

There was a very long, very awkward silence.

 

“How about I text you my answer later tonight.” Astrid said, deciding to ignore Sam for the rest of the drive. She turned the radio on again and listened to it until they rolled into Sam’s driveway.

 

At about nine o’clock, Sam Temple received a text from “Sasstrid Elliso in love with Diana.”

 

_ Yes. maybe she’s a little cute  _


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Astrid’s internship was almost over, and Astrid was still listening to 104.5 every time they were in the car. Things were coming to a close for learning about all things nuclear, their instructors starting to run out of material for their class. It was ending along with their last year in highschool.

This afternoon, when Astrid first switched on the radio, it was playing one of Huntress’s songs. Usually, when they tuned in at this time, it was prime time to hear the DJs talking, and they hadn’t heard anything about King being out of town.

The next song was Huntress’s upbeat, feminist style as well. Astrid obnoxiously lip synced along to it, much Sam’s horror. 

“I never thought I’d say this, but I’d actually prefer it if some of King’s music was playing right now,” Sam groaned. Not that he’d ever say that to “King”s face. 

At a long last, the song came to a close. Astrid milked the last note in all her fake-popstar glory, then kept listening. Maybe she would hear from Huntress, or mind-numbing commercials were in their future.

A female voice came over the speakers. “Anyways, if you want to hear some more stuff like that, go check out our iHeart radio station because it still plays my music since King doesn’t know how to do anything with it. Also, speaking of not knowing what to do with something,” she paused, “I’m breaking up with King.”

“What? But we’ve been together for so long. Babe…” Well, this explained the different music.

“Lucky you guys, I own this station, not King. And he can stay on the station on the condition of not acting like my ex and acting like my co-host.”

“Not acting like your ex? I am your ex!”

“Like Justin Bieber said, we can still be friends.”

“Or more than friends.”

“Get out”

King didn’t return to the station for a week, and even after he did, Huntress’s music still played. 

***

An inviting summer breeze eased its way into the slightly cracked windows, teasing of school’s incoming close. Senior year was ending for Sam and Astrid, and they were both ready for the summer. A song about school being out was playing on 104.5.

Huntress’s voice sounded tempting over the car speakers. “Call in after this next song to win free tickets to the Perdido Summer Music Festival, we’ll be giving those to our fourth caller. And another special caller will get a prize that is very, um, special! Up next, Renegades by X Ambassadors, alternately known as the only dark-themed song I like that Caine does not.”

Astrid considered it for a second. “Should I call in?”. 

“Yes, absolutely,” Sam answered. Astrid reached for her phone automatically. “But let me dial it, ok. Don’t crash the car.”

He punched in the number and waited for the song to end. Astrid pressed the green call button and held the phone to her ear as soon as the last note played. 

Huntress began with a quick bit about the song, then talked about the tickets up for grabs.

Astrid had her ear pressed to the phone hard enough to leave an imprint. Whoever was on the other end said, “Hello, you’ve reached 104.5 radio station, and you are on hold.” They didn’t hang up, and Huntress was now talking to Taylor, the girl who’d won tickets and was going to go with her boyfriend. Astrid mouthed “What do I do?”to Sam. 

“I don’t know, just stay on the call,” Sam answered. “And maybe pull over soon.”

After some celebration of Taylor winning her tickets, Huntress took her off of the line and announced, “We’ll get back to that special listener after this next song.”

Right now, Astrid was just trying to keep from crashing the car while keeping her phone firmly pressed to her head. 

The song ran its course, then Diana said, “And now for that special listener, we’ve got someone on line who is about to receive the best prize they ever could.”

Was it me? Astrid thought. Then, she started to hear a very strange echo. 

“What’s your name?” Huntress said over the phone. And on the radio. 

“Astrid.” Have I actually won the prize? she asked herself.

“Alright, Astrid, you are the lucky winner of two backstage passes to the music festival where you’re not only going to get to hang out with the coolest stars in the music industry, but with King and I. I know there’s something of a rumor that there’s a lovely lady named Astrid who has a bit of a crush on me? Is that you?” Huntress asked.

“Yes, it is,” Astrid said, while shooting Sam a death glare that would intimidate most criminals. “ I thought you should break up with King, and found your music taste impeccable even though it was nothing like my own. I also enjoyed your commentary a lot. Eventually, my friend Sam pointed out that I liked you.”

Huntress laughed.

“I realized that he was correct.”

“Well, now that I’ve broken up with King, I guess I’m pretty available. Guess I’ll see you there,”Huntress said. She hung up.

Astrid turned to Sam with a look of disbelief on her face. He gave her a fist bump. “Girl, you got game.”

***

Through the power of memes and communal bitching about their separate issues, Sam and Astrid kept in touch after their internship. Since Sam was the one who’d gotten her to call in and get the tickets, Astrid invited him as her plus-one to the festival. It was going to run June 6th-9th, and the passes covered all of those days. Because of babysitting jobs, Astrid could only make it to the last day.

Sam showed up at her house that afternoon, before he was going to drive them to the event. Astrid opened up the door. 

“Come in, come in. I need your opinion on some things.” She motioned him to follow her into her room, which looked like the aftermath of the nuclear explosions they’d learned about months earlier. Clothes were thrown over every available surface, including the floor. Various makeups and odd objects-was that nail polish?-were strewn across every surface, floor included. 

Astrid continued talking. “So, I’ve narrowed it down to”-she pulled two outfits out of the mess-“white shirt, jeans, cropped jacket and tie-dye shirt, blue leggings, flannel. Which is better?” She barely took a breath between each word.

“White shirt and jeans but with the flannel instead,” Sam answered. Did he know which looked better? No, but they needed to leave in ten minutes to make it on time, and Astrid looked like she could stress over this for another hour. 

“Ok, dark makeup or au natural?” Astrid grabbed a makeup bag off her desk and opened it, rummaging through its contents. 

“Au natural. You’re a little worked up over this, it’s just a festival,” Sam said, trying to reassure her.

She walked into the bathroom in the hall, and Sam followed her. “It’s just that I’m going to meet the girl I’ve liked a lot for 2 months and maybe some of the best music artists in the world. I can’t show up looking like trash, this needs to be perfect. Now go somewhere else,” Astrid said, slamming the door in Sam’s face. “I’m changing.”

“What happened to ‘perfection is an illusion’?” Sam asked, mildly amused at how worked up Astrid was over this. He waited, checking his phone for any odd text message or update. There was a single meme from his boyfriend.

“You know what I mean,”Astrid said, emerging from the bedroom. She threw some makeup into her purse. “Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go to the Perdido Summer Music Festival and show them what we’re there for!”

Sam struggled to keep up with Astrid as she strided to the door, although Astrid was much shorter. “You’re there to stare at Huntress and obnoxiously sing along to every song. I’m there to enjoy some music and you making a fool out of yourself.” And avoid someone else, he thought. 

“Fair, but we’ll be late if you don’t actually open the door. I’m holding things.”

Sighing, Sam opened the front door. He trailed after Astrid to the car, holding the car door open for her. He’d barely started the car and she was already double checking her makeup and adding invisible touches.

“Hey, relax. You’re gonna have an awesome time tonight, ok,” Sam said, already worried. Astrid looked tense.

“Fine.” She put the makeup back in her bag. “Let’s turn on the radio.”

He turned 104.5 on, and let the dancey pop songs fill the car with noise. According to Astrid’s future girlfriend, there were going to be live performances of many of these songs tonight. Sam and Astrid were both bouncing with excitement by the time they pulled into the parking lot at the festival.

A crowd had already gathered, but there were maps and advertisements everywhere. They made their way to the booth for the radio without much fuss, especially since Astrid had memorized where it was last night. Sam could see her nerves returning as they got closer.

An official-looking guy wearing a headset approached them as the two walked towards the booth. “Excuse me, are you Astrid Ellison and Sam Temple?”

“Uh, yeah,” Astrid said.

He gave them passes on lanyards that read “VIP” in large letters, a bag full of goodies, and a program for the evening. “There’s a VIP lounge inside the tent. They’ll let you in if you show them the badges.”

Astrid did not move, paralyzed with indecision. Sam decided to step in and rescue her before this security guy thought they were serious weirdos. “Where are the DJs? Are they going to be in the lounge?”

“Maybe, probably a little later in the night. They’re announcing some acts, and all that. Actually, they might be in there right now.”

Sam could feel Astrid tensing up next to him. “But I don’t really know. You should really go check out the VIP room though, there’s loads of snacks.”

That was all the persuasion Sam needed to start walking into the little tent behind the booth, Astrid following behind him.

“What if she’s in there?” Astrid asked, making Sam stop in his tracks before the entrance. 

“Then you talk to her and see what happens,” Sam said, resuming his original trajectory towards the booth.

The security guy had been right about the snacks, so Sam took it upon himself to gather as many of them as possible on his plate, and then eat them. Astrid looked around the room anxiously, as if expecting Huntress to pop out from behind one of the walls. 

“Chill,” Sam said through a mouth of food, “Have some Doritos.” It was slightly hypocritical advice coming from him, since he was stress eating to avoid thinking about who was coming to this event with Huntress. 

Astrid nibbled on a cupcake, and her and Sam talked about the artists performing, both trying to diffuse the nervous atmosphere inside the lounge. Finally, an over-caffeinated secretary came and got them for the performances about to start. 

As he led them to their seats, Astrid and Sam had a hard time containing their excitement. They were front row front row. Sam had checked who was performing a few days ago and…wow. No matter how things went with Huntress and King, this was going to be a night to remember.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam and Astrid took their seats and watched one of the lesser-known bands play a few songs. While neither knew who it was, the size of the event was starting to set in. People were pouring in by the _thousands,_ and the set list read like the Vegas walk of stars. Sam peeked into his bag of goodies and saw t-shirts for several big names.

 

Just as Astrid thought she was really enjoying one of the indie band’s songs, someone tapped her on the shoulder. A soft voice, not one she’d heard before, but familiar somehow, said “You’re Astrid, right?”

 

Astrid turned to face the speaker. “Yeah, that’s me.” Her mouth went dry when she realized who it was.

 

Diana’s wavy black hair was down, her deep brown eyes were staring directly into Astrid’s, and she wore a small, yet genuine smile. Astrid forgot how to breathe.

 

“I’ve been really looking forward to meeting you,” Diana said, and Astrid mentally etched each syllable into her mind, “I’ll admit, finding out I had a secret admirer from Caine was weird, but you seem pretty cool.”

 

Was she flirting? Astrid was 99% sure that she was flirting. With her. “Well, you haven’t seen me screech along to Taylor Swift yet, so I’d hold that judgement.”

 

“By my judgement, that makes you not only a cool person, but a passionate one,” Diana said, two dots of pink appearing on her brown cheeks.

 

“Passion can be useful,” Astrid said, looking down at her lap to hide her matching blush. “For instance, if I wasn’t passionate about meeting my crush, I wouldn’t be here. And you wouldn’t have a radio channel.”

 

“That’s true,” Diana said, nodding. “Although it was less of a passion project, and more of me trying to get a job away from my family as soon as I could.”

 

“Really? How long have you had the station?” Astrid asked, most of her nerves dissipating. While Huntress was still fuck-me gorgeous, she was no longer someone Astrid didn’t know at all. This small tidbit of knowledge felt like a piece of gold.

 

“About, oh, four months ago,” Diana said, “I was actually still in highschool when the station was officially mine.”

 

“How did you run it while also being in school?” Astrid asked, curious, “I mean, you obviously couldn’t run it full time.”

 

“For one, there’s lots of management, PR hacks and the like. The previous owner liked me, so when he got _promoted,_ he gave me ownership of the station. Told me to sell it to pay for college. I decided to treat it as an investment and grow the business as much as possible. That’s how we’re at this event with special guests. I know how to run the station better than he could,” Diana said, shrugging as if to underpay the accomplishment.

 

If there was only one thing that Astrid found attractive, it would be the absolute confidence Diana exhuded. She forgot what she was going to say for a second, then said, “So, no college? Or you could come to UC Berkely with me.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized them, and Astrid would have taken them back if not for the shy smile on Diana’s face.

 

“Oh, definitely college, but probably a few years down the line. I’ve got to get everything with the station under control first. It’s a lot of work, and I don’t entirely trust everyone there yet.” Diana’s expression shifted, and she seemed very tired for a second.

 

“I’m sure you’ll do a great job,” Astrid said, wondering how much stress the girl was under. “Maybe even become famous nationwide.” She shifted her body more towards Diana. This was a conversation she wanted to remember forever.

 

***

 

The second they walked in, Sam noticed Caine. Sitting on the other side of Diana, he’d shot Sam a few resentful glances ever since he and Astrid had sat down. Sam didn’t particularly know why Caine was mad at him, but it could honestly be anything. Ever since they’d known they were brothers, Caine and Sam’s relationship had been…tenuous. They weren’t living in the same house, but Sam knew his brother resented him for being the one their mother kept.

 

At least they didn’t go to the same school. That would have been living hell. But weekends, breaks, and summer had always been prime time for Caine to show up wherever Sam was with his clique of bullies, determined  to ruin Sam’s day. He’d been surprisingly quiet this summer, because of the job at the radio station, but Sam knew that, in many ways, Caine was a volcano of anger, and eventually he would explode

 

Sam had feared an explosion when he’d let slip that Astrid was crushing on Huntress. It had seemed like a witty line in his head, but when he said it out loud, Sam had made Astrid a target of Caine and his gang’s wrath.

 

Right now, they were both engaged in a game of carefully watching each other while pretending that they didn’t notice each other. It wasn’t particularly interesting until Caine got up from his seat and headed for the port-a-potties at the exits of the amphitheater.

 

Tensing up in preparation for Caine’s return, Sam did his best to enjoy the performers onstage and Astrid and Diana’s flirtatious conversation. At least they were getting along well. Sam did not want to pick up the pieces of an Astrid heartbroken over Huntress. The musicians warming up were mostly meh, although there were a few that Sam pegged as future breakout artists.

 

Caine came back from the bathroom. Sam relaxed a little at first, thinking that Caine would just walk by his seat to get to his own. No such luck.

 

Sitting on the empty chair to his right, Caine leaned towards Sam. “Good evening. How are you enjoying the show?”

 

“Warmup acts aren’t bad. I’m still waiting for the big performers to come out,” Sam said, knowing that Caine was just warming up for something that might not go so well.

 

“Diana arranged it, made most of the calls. She’s great, isn’t she? Lucky me, I’m the one who gets to date her.” Caine’s arrogant grin was begging to be slapped off, but Sam knew that probably wasn’t the best idea.

 

“I thought you two broke up?”

 

Sam felt Caine tense up next to him. “Pretty sure it’s temporary.”

 

“Wouldn’t count on it if I were you.” Sam focused his attention back towards the music, determined to keep his eyes away from his brother.

 

“I know what you’re thinking, Sam. But I think there’s some things you haven’t considered. First of all, Diana’s my girlfriend whether she knows it or not. I sure hope I never catch her around your pretty blonde friend.”

 

“Or what, you throw a hissy fit?” Sam had long since figured out that the best way to deal with Caine was to not let him get to you. He refused to look at his brother.

 

Caine’s smile could singe ice. “Well, I’ll give you a choice, since you’re my brother. Either I tell the whole world-and Mom-about you and your _surfer dude_ boyfriend, or something terrible happens to Astrid. Your choice. If I were you, I’d tell your friend Astrid that Diana’s never going to be into her.”

 

Sam took a deep breath, quashing the desire to punch Caine in the face once again. “Diana’s not your girlfriend, Caine. She broke up with you, and you’re damn lucky that she still let you keep your job. Leave her and Astrid alone. You wouldn’t want to ruin her chance at a good partner, would you?” It was a cheap jab, but Caine had some nerve to come here and talk about Diana like that.

 

“You’re wrong, Sam. Because Diana _is_ my girl, and either you or Astrid will get the sharp end of the stick if they get together,” Caine said, motioning towards Diana and Astrid. They were laughing about something, gazes love-sick.

 

He stood up, and walked to take his seat next to Diana. Neither of the two girls noticed him, completely oblivious to everything but each other. Meanwhile, Sam’s insides were writhing at the thought of what Caine and his gang were planning for Astrid. The impossible choices Caine laid before him made it difficult for Sam to enjoy the rest of the event, even when his favorite band walked onstage.


	4. Chapter 4

 

Astrid was walking on clouds after the music festival. The artists, the songs, the excitement, the  _ atmosphere _ thrilled her, but what made Astrid grin rainbows was talking with Diana Ladris. 

 

Her and Diana had a lot in common, but it wasn’t what Astrid usually shared with people. It was the less superficial things. They both dealt with more than anyone realized. They both figured out their sexualities because of the same TV show. While they had difficulty making anything more than a casual friend, Diana and Astrid had plenty of ambition for the future. 

 

While the festival was amazing, Astrid would remember talking with Diana more than the music. That is, if they weren’t overshadowed by future memories with Diana. In the history of Astrid’s crushes, she’d never fallen for anyone this fast.

 

Fortunately, Sam agreed to a sleepover afterwards to talk about it. He was out of it after the festival, and Astrid assumed it was the trial bothering him again. She hoped her house could be an escape from the “literal emotional minefield” (Sam’s words, not hers) that was the Temple household.

 

They were sitting on the couch in her basement and kind of talking. Astrid  was debating (both in her head and with Sam) whether to text Diana now or later. Her and Diana exchanged numbers sometime during the night, and even thinking about it left Astrid feeling like someone popped a bottle of champagne inside her. Astrid knew it was all very middle school, but  _ she so did not want to mess this up. _

 

Sam, so far, had been distant. His replies were formulaic, scripted. Any AI with half a processor could have mimicked his dialogue to the syllable.

 

“I should just text her, right? I’m never going to know if she wants to text me if I don’t text,” Astrid said, staring at her phone screen with determination.

 

“I’m sure there’s no way she wouldn’t be into you, so go for it,” Sam said, the bitterness at Caine seeping into his tone. Why couldn’t he just leave Sam alone?

 

“Sam, are you mad that I’m taking forever to text a ‘hey what’s up’ to Diana,” Astrid said, noting the change in his tone. “Because I know I’m being stupid about this. I just...really like her.”

 

He sighed. “I know. You’ve been obsessed with her for the entire time that I’ve known you. It’s not you, it’s…” He trailed off, not wanting to tell her about what Caine had said. 

 

“It’s what? C’mon, you can’t be sounding that  _ salty  _ for no reason,” Astrid said, figuring that slang might get Sam to open up as much as it pained her to be grammatically incorrect.

 

“I don’t exactly want to talk about it,” Sam said, taking his phone out of his pocket and focusing on it instead of her, avoiding Astrid’s eyes.

 

“Look, Sam, if it’s about your case, you can talk to me. Bottling up your feelings isn’t good,” Astrid said, invoking her rarely used expression for genuine concern. It was a little too similar to her “I failed something” face, but Astrid neither noticed nor cared. 

 

“Well…” Sam said, deliberating his options for a second. He settled on a half-truth. “I’m worried about what could happen with you and Diana. Like, you two are obviously on the going-to-be-a-couple trajectory, right, but since she’s a huge public figure and everything...I don’t want homophobes to ruin your fairytale romance.”  _ And psycho ex-boyfriends,  _ he thought. “It happened with me and Quinn with our old surfer bros, and that’s why we’re not public online. I don’t want the same shit to happen to you.”

 

Astrid hit send on the text. “I guess it could happen, but hopefully we’ll face it when it comes. I don’t want to be too public with the relationship, especially at the start. I mean...it is small-town California, but I’m going to college soon, and it’s more accepting there, I guess? I mean, you’re right to be worried, but I think Diana and I can both handle any of that...criticism.”

 

“Yeah,” Sam said, “I guess I’m just worried over nothing.” While Sam was pretty sure he was worried for a damn good reason, he really didn’t want to trouble her. Besides, by the time Astrid and Diana actually got together, Caine would probably move on. Probably. 

 

But Sam couldn’t be quite sure. When Caine had first started dating Diana, a year or so ago, he’d made a point to tease Sam about his lack of a girlfriend. This was typical Caine-getting-a-girlfriend behavior, but after that, Caine never shut the hell up about Diana. He dragged her into every conversation with Sam, even when it wasn’t particularly relevant. When they met up for “family bonding time” (courtesy of Ms. Temple), Caine bragged about Diana, and even quoted Shakespeare about her. As a testament to Caine’s intellect, it was the “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” sonnet.

 

Sam would be lying if he said he  _ didn’t  _ think Caine enjoyed having a fiery, loyal girlfriend with a smart mouth because of some weird power trip. His brother was an extremely possessive person. You were either in Caine’s crew or outside of it, and he didn’t let anyone leave or enter without his explicit permission.

 

Not to mention that Caine’s friends were some of the most terrifying people he’d ever met. There was Drake Merwin, who was obsessed with guns, misogyny, and masochism. The tentacle tattoo winding around his right arm didn’t exactly make Sam feel comfortable. There was Penny, the young girl who could convince you of anything. Drake scared Sam because of his lack of morals, Penny scared Sam because she could make you think she had morals. There was Brittney, Drake’s girlfriend, and she was creepy as all hell. Diana used to hang around with them, and she’d seemed like the only reasonable person there. 

 

Combined, all of them were intelligent and well-connected enough to do something awful to Astrid. So yes, Sam wasn’t worried over nothing. 

 

He couldn’t imagine telling Astrid, though. She would probably brush it off, saying she was capable-and she was, just not when psychopaths like Caine were involved. Not to mention that, if Astrid told Diana, she might call off the relationship. Diana was smart enough to know that when Caine made a threat, he meant it.

 

While Astrid chattered about what she was texting Diana, Sam remained deep in thought. There was one option that meant minimal harm to Astrid and Diana, and it was letting Caine out him. Which could get him in as much trouble as Caine coming after him like he would Astrid otherwise.

 

Getting slurs hurled at him was not how Sam wanted his life to be, especially leading up to the trial. Also, Caine tended to take anything that was a performance to the extreme. Outing Sam would be no exception. Sam had no control over what Caine would say about him.

 

But then there was Astrid, someone with a future past Sam’s trial date, and Diana. Just from the size of the crowd at the festival, Sam knew she was good at what she did. They both were so intelligent, clever, full of potential, and Sam had…surfing.

 

Eventually, his tired brain would no longer let him think about it, and he talked and gossiped with Astrid. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahaha it's late please don't sue me for the angst

Moving past the awkwardness, the sleepover was fun. Astrid and Sam stayed up talking late, long after Diana signed off with “good night” and a few heart emojis.

 

Speaking of which, texting Diana went great. They picked up from their conversation at the festival, and Astrid loved it. Talking wasn’t awkward over text-they both used similar, internet-type grammar, unlike a certain Sam Temple. 

 

When she was done texting with Diana, it was Sam’s turn to talk about his crush, or rather, boyfriend. Astrid knew about him, but nothing beyond that they were dating. 

 

Talking about Quinn made Sam happy, and there was no end in sight to the stories Sam told about his boyfriend. They only stopped talking at three AM, when both realized that they had things to do the next day, and didn’t want to be  _ completely  _ sleep deprived. 

 

Sam passed out on the floor, cocooned in a blanket and resting his head on a throw pillow, while Astrid took the couch in her sleeping bag. They slept peacefully until morning.

 

_ Ping.  _ Sam’s phone lit up with a new text. He opened one eye to look at the phone lying on the carpet near his head. It was from Quinn. With a quick glance at Astrid, who was fast asleep, he opened his phone and looked at the message.

 

_ Ready for a hot date tonight ;)  _

 

Oh fuck. Sam had nearly forgotten about his date with Quinn, what with the all-encompassing craziness that was last night. He’d mentioned it to Astrid maybe once.

 

He also would have to tell Quinn about everything with Caine. Since Caine’s proposal involved Quinn, and Sam really didn’t have anyone to talk about this with, he was going to have to tell Quinn tonight. 

 

_ Can’t wait! I have smth to tell u about then tho _

 

_ Is it serious _

 

_ Ya a little. But I want to talk w u about it _

 

_ Ok, can’t wait. Gtg I have a job interview wish me luck _

 

_ Good luck, see you later.  _

 

Sam gave a small sigh, releasing the tension from his shoulders. At least he had Quinn to talk to. They could come up with something together to keep Caine out of their lives. 

 

Also, as Sam read over the texts, he realized that Astrid had corrupted his texting style. She almost exclusively texted in abbreviations and awful grammar, and Sam, who much preferred short, well spelled messages had initially hated it. But it appeared that he’d adapted it, to a certain extent. He looked over at Astrid, who was sleeping away on the couch even as sun shined through the tiny window in the basement.

 

He was going to have to tell her about this sometime soon. Sam knew it was only prolonging the inevitable, but he wanted Astrid to be happy. And, if last night was any indicator, Diana made Astrid incredibly happy. Sam could see that they were going to be  _ such _ a power couple. Caine was the only one fucking with the situation in this case, and Sam was probably the person with the power to stop him. At least when his brother was giving the threat, Sam knew him better than most. 

 

It was 10:45 am. Probably about time for Sam to get up and do stuff. He had to go home, and probably tell his mom that he’d slept over at Astrid’s. Of course, he’d sent her a text, but she was usually too distracted to check her phone. Getting sued was stressful, and she was obsessing over money. Sam worried about her, but he had his own things to deal with right now. Like finding a job and making sure Caine didn’t ruin his life. 

 

Sam got up from the floor and went over to Astrid. Knowing her, she had something to do today. Considering how anxious she got sometimes, she probably wouldn’t be happy sleeping in until noon. 

 

“Astrid. Astrid, it’s 10:45. Time to wake up,” Sam said, nudging at her sleeping bag. 

 

“Is it really? I’m hungry.” Astrid’s voice was muffled, and she poked her head out from inside the bag. Her hair clung to the sleeping bag with static. “I want pancakes.”

 

“Me too,” Sam said, realizing that he was pretty hungry. “There’s a breakfast place near here.”

 

“Yeah. That,” Astrid said, untangling herself from the sleeping bag, which had gotten rather contorted during the night. “Maybe you should go home though. You didn’t bring a change a of clothes.”

 

“I didn’t, didn’t I. Well, if you still want to meet up with me for breakfast, I can go home and come back to that little cafe sometime around noon. You’re probably sick of me.” Sam tried to smooth out his shirt, becoming aware of the wrinkles dotting it.

 

“Nah. I’m not sick of you yet. I will be after another two hours of interacting with you, though,” Astrid said, stretching and yawning, “I feel like that’s when I’ll start wanting to strangle you.” Sam was getting the vibe that Astrid was very...odd when she’d just woken up. Filterless, and interesting, but temporary. 

 

“Alright, I’ll get out of here. Noon, right?” Sam asked, mentally calculating where his things were in the room. 

 

***

 

Breakfast with Astrid was quick, just Sam filling her in on his mom’s mood (bad, she hadn’t said anything about him not coming home last night), and Astrid telling him Diana had texted her that morning. They were kind of sick of each other, and went their separate ways after finishing their pancakes.

 

Sam drove home from the cafe to a silent house. He checked his phone for anything new, of which there wasn’t much. Just a few groupchats, a spare meme, and a message from Caine. 

 

_ Remember what I told you last night.  _

 

Several profanities ran through Sam’s head as he read it. Evidently, there was no chance of Caine letting his threat fall by the wayside. One more thing to tell Quinn about tonight. 

 

To kill time before the date, Sam actually took time to look for a job online and sent out some emails. While college had always been something he’d wanted to do, Sam couldn’t leave his mom behind. Everything in the last few years-finding Caine, him and Quinn, their financial situation, and the trial-had worn on her a lot. She was overworked at the hospital, and stressed out everywhere else. Her mental and physical health were in decline, and Sam couldn’t imagine leaving her alone. 

 

When it came time, Sam threw on a jacket and went down to his and Quinn’s usual restaurant. It was a small old-style diner near the waterfront, called  _ The Healing Place.  _ Despite the odd name(or maybe because of it), it was one of the few places where he and Quinn could have a casual date without getting odd glances. 

 

Lana and Dekka ran the place together. They were pretty obviously in love, and weren’t shy about their affections. The result was that the place was free of homophobes. Lana also had a boyfriend, which only served to make the diner seem more accepting. It was a cute, small little place, with a short menu and several private booths. 

 

It was only a short walk away from Sam’s house, so he got time to think to himself. Sam remembered how he’d met Lana and found  _ The Healing Place.  _

 

***

 

The relationship was new. It had been a week or so since he and Quinn had taken the jump from just-friends-nothing-more to boyfriends. So far, it was enjoyable. The honeymoon phase that Sam thought they would grow out of. 

 

Mostly, they met to surf and kiss and talk. No official dates yet, just love notes in class and clandestine meetings by the waves. It was a sweet secret that Sam hadn’t told anyone about, because it felt so good to be with Quinn that he didn’t want anyone to ruin it. 

 

They’d arranged to do…things after surfing with everyone else in their crew. So they spent an hour out on the ocean with their friends, competing with each other to catch the biggest waves, to do the craziest things. Eventually, everyone decided it was about time to go home. Sam and Quinn told their usual lie that  _ oh, my house is this way,  _ and waited until everyone had walked away.

 

Sam took Quinn’s hands in his own, and said, “So, down for another wave or two?”

 

“Only if you go with me,” Quinn said, leaning over to kiss Sam, putting one arm over his shoulder and leaning in more. Sam deepened the kiss, and it wasn’t long before they were making out on the beach, bodies pressed together. 

 

Quinn broke the kiss after a while, “Ah, finally I get to kiss you.” A smile spread across his face. “You looked really good out there.”

 

“Did I? I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you,” Sam said, kissing Quinn again. They’d been desperate for another moment like this, after being too busy with school to surf all week. Neither of them were willing to risk using empty classrooms or closets at school to spend quality time together. Breaking apart, they took a good second to stare into each others eyes, savoring each others presence. It was a peaceful moment, a bubble of time where nothing could go wrong. 

 

But something popped it. Voices, and footsteps were approaching, and a bad feeling started to sink into Sam’s stomach. They broke apart, but the damage was already done. 

 

“What the  _ hell _ ?” someone said, and then a “Wait, are they… _ gay _ ?” The voices were derisive, the contempt and confusion brewing a storm on the calm beach.   
  


The two boys looked to find their friends, or their now ex-friends saying things to them that Sam had mostly blocked out from his memory. The message was clear though. Nobody was  _ comfortable  _ having them there. It would be  _ weird.  _ Too much like…those people. They weren’t homophobic, but…as long as Sam and Quinn were dating, they weren’t welcome in the Perdido Surfing Crew. A name that Quinn himself had come up with.

 

Quinn started crying and Sam had led him away, holding his boyfriend’s hand and walking as far away from  _ them  _ as he could, kicking up sand as he went.

 

Sam stopped when they reached a road. They sat down on the side of it, tears still pouring from Quinn’s eyes, and a few from Sam’s as well.

 

“Hey, it’s gonna be ok,” Sam said, squeezing Quinn’s hand, “We-we don’t need them. If they couldn’t accept us dating, they’re not worth our time.” His voice was shaking, the reassurance as much for him as for Quinn.

 

The two sat there for a long time, Sam trying his best to be calming, but they were both panicking nonetheless. The setting sun behind them only made the situation seem more grim when the sky changed from warm daylight to empty blackness. 

 

When they thought there weren’t any more tears to cry, and were just sitting there, shaking from the cold, Quinn turned his head and said, “We’re going to be ok, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Sam said.

 

“They’re not going to ruin this, right?”

 

“No,” Sam said, and leaned to Quinn, and after a moment of hesitation, pressed his mouth to the other boy’s. He needed their closeness right then, needed to feel the salt of the ocean and their tears blending together underneath his lips. It lasted only a second, but the kiss told both of them everything that couldn’t be said. They were in this together. 

 

“You two look like you need a place to warm up,” an unfamiliar voice said. “Come on in. I’m Lana, and you two make a sad ass pair.”

 

Sam and Quinn got up off the ground and followed Lana into her restaurant. She gave them food, bundled them in blankets, and gave them hot tea to drink while they told her what had happened. When Quinn insisted that he pay her back, she shrugged and said it was on the house. Then, she told them about her girlfriend Dekka, and how they were always welcome here.

 

They’d gone to  _ The Healing Place  _ for dates ever since. While the name might seem a little weird, it was true to the establishment. Lana did more than serve food, she healed the souls of troubled people with conversation and love. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me? with a chapter on time? it's more likely than you think. also this is one of my fave scenes so...enjoy. it's like 90% fluff.

As he walked closer to the restaurant, Sam’s phone pinged in his pocket. He looked at it, expecting something from Quinn. But, as luck would have it, Astrid had texted. 

 

_ Diana wants to meet me for dinner a night this week!!! I’m so excited!!!! _

 

Sam smiled down at his phone. Astrid was incredibly adorable when in love, and fortunately it made her text like a proper human who used grammar (although not punctuation). It made him sad that Caine wanted to break up something as sweet as their blossoming relationship. Hopefully, the talk with Quinn would clear some things up. 

 

_ Sounds like fun! Good luck.  _

 

There had to be a way out of this puzzle. Sam opened the door to the restaurant to find Quinn waiting in the vestibule. He wrapped an arm around Quinn’s waist, planted a kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek, and said, “So, should we head in?” 

 

“Yeah, let’s do that. I missed you, babe,” Quinn said, leaning his head against Sam’s shoulder. The simple “babe” made Sam’s heart flutter. They’d replaced “brah” with “babe” so easily when they started dating, and it still hadn’t lost its charm. 

 

Lana was behind the counter as usual, but this time she was chasing after Dekka, who had stolen her nametag. 

 

“I need that! Honey, I’ve got customers,” she half-yelled, reaching across Dekka’s shoulder to grab it back. 

 

Dekka ducked out from under her arm and ran over to the other side of the counter, sticking Lana’s’ nametag next to hers on her apron. “Hi, how can I help you two today. My name is Lana Arwen Lazar, and-”

 

“-give it to me! Don’t freak Sam and Quinn out,” Lana said, her face flushed as she looked from the two boys to Dekka. She reached to try and take it again, but Dekka was a good deal taller and managed to keep it out of Lana’s reach. 

 

“I’ll give it to you,” Dekka said, “on one condition.” She leaned closer towards Lana’s face, until their lips touched. “Here you go.” She handed Lana the nametag, their faces less than an inch apart. 

 

“Dekka, we’re at  _ work _ ,” Lana said, feigning irritation. Sam and Quinn were both laughing. 

 

Her girlfriend waved a hand at their waiting customers. “It’s just Sam and Quinn. They’re regulars, they don’t mind.”

 

“We really don’t,” Quinn said, giving them a fond smile. “You guys are adorable.” 

 

Lana turned away from Dekka, facing Sam and Quinn. She cleared her throat and fixed the nametag to her apron, intentionally ignoring her girlfriend, who had an arm around her shoulders, and was resting her head on Lana’s.. “So, a booth for you two, as usual?”

 

“Yes,” Sam said, still giggling a little. “A booth would be nice. And can we get some fries to start off?”

 

“Of course,” Lana said. She tilted her head up a little. “Dekka, could you be a dear and grab Sam and Quinn some fries?”

 

“As you wish,” Dekka said, kissing Lana on the head and leaving. 

 

“Sorry about that,” Lana said, handing them menus. “I’m not big on PDA at work, but Dekka very much is. Fortunately, it was just you two in tonight.” The dazed expression contradicted her statement-Lana was  _ absolutely  _ enjoying this.

 

“It’s really no issue,” Quinn said, “Honestly, you two make my day everytime you do something cute like that.”

 

“Mine too,” Sam said, nodding, but Lana had already disappeared into the back. They went and sat down, taking the booth farthest from the entrance. It was nice and private, the green upholstery and dim lighting familiar and comfortable. 

 

They sat down on opposite sides of the same booth. These dates were their time to talk, about their lives, about each other, about anything. It was a time Sam treasured, especially when he had something weighing on him. Like tonight. 

 

“So, you said you had something serious to talk to me about,” Quinn said, looking Sam in the eye. 

 

“Yeah, and it involves”-Sam gestured at the space between them-“Us. But not just us, it’s a whole thing with my friend and…” He trailed off for a bit, putting his hands up on the table. “Do you want the long version or the short version?”

 

“Well,”Quinn said, “considering that Dekka and Lana are probably too distracted to get us our fries right now, I’ll take the long version.” He took one of Sam’s hands in his own. 

 

“So, you know my friend Astrid, right? Blonde hair, blue eyes, smart as hell, hella bisexual?” Sam looked down at the table. 

 

“Yeah, you showed me her instagram. You guys had that internship together, right?” 

 

“That’s her. Well, she had this crazy huge crush on Diana Ladris, aka Huntress, the DJ on that one station, 104.5. And Huntress  _ was  _ dating King, another DJ, who happens to be my brother Caine,” Sam said, “Astrid won tickets to the summer music festival, and I came with her. She got to meet Diana there, and they absolutely hit it off. They both really like each other, and they’re getting dinner together later this week.”

 

“Ok,” Quinn said, looking around as if putting the pieces together. “I can kind of see where this is going.”

 

Sam took a deep breath and continued. “Caine noticed that Diana and Astrid were getting close at the festival. So, he threatened me. Either Diana and Astrid aren’t a couple, or I get to choose between two alternatives: Caine outs me and you, or Caine does something terrible to Astrid. And since Caine is my literal evil twin, there’s no way he’ll just forget about this. He texted me this morning.” He took out his phone and showed Quinn the text. 

 

Quinn’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. So, you have three shity options:break up Diana and Astrid, out you and I, or let Caine do something awful to Astrid. Can you get a restraining order on this guy for like, us, Astrid, and Diana?”   
  


“No. Believe it or not, I’ve been looking into criminal law a lot lately,” Sam said, “and it would be easy, if I didn’t have to take Caine to court. Which, knowing that his adopted family is filthy rich, would probably happen. Me and Connie are barely scraping by as is.”

 

“If Astrid’s gonna be at UC Berkeley, wouldn’t she be safe?” Quinn asked, going for a different angle. “Like, there’s campus security and stuff there.”

 

“Caine has friends there, unfortunately. A guy named Orc,” Sam said, exasperation bleeding into his tone. 

 

“What if you just tell them...to keep it secret?” Quinn suggested, “Like, only go to a few places for dates, stay away from big public events, and not tell Caine. Of course, tell them in a while. Is Astrid telling you everything that goes on with her and Diana?”

 

“Yeah, pretty much. She really wants to stay in touch with me during college, and has promised to let me know if anything nuts happens while she’s at school. Also, she let me know about the date right about when it happened,” Sam said, considering.

 

“Ok, so you can just monitor their relationship until it gets to the point where they would go public, and tell Astrid to keep it private because of the threat,” Quinn said, trying to reassure Sam. “Simple.”

 

“But there’s so many possibilities for it to fall apart,” Sam said, “Like, we didn’t think we’d get caught. And then we  _ did _ . Also, Diana’s a big public figure. People are going to get suspicious if Astrid is in every other picture on her instagram and Diana doesn’t have a certain boyfriend or girlfriend.” He sighed, slumping against the table.

 

“You could come with Astrid,” Quinn said, hoping a half-baked idea was better than none. “And pretend to be Diana’s boyfriend? To throw Caine off the trail?”

 

“There’s an enormous problem with that.”

 

“Oh. Um, get him a new girlfriend?” Quinn said, squeezing Sam’s hand. “Some rebound sex? Get his mind off of Diana? Maybe set him up with someone with a lot of her own drama, so he doesn’t have time for his own?”

 

Sam opened his mouth to object, but then realized that Quinn was actually onto something with that. “Quinn Gaither, you’re a genius. I need to get him a Tinder account, and see how it goes. He usually forgets about his exes after a few days.”

 

“You forgot the most genius part of it,” Quinn said, “Caine is too worried about finding the perfect new girlfriend to focus on getting revenge on you and Astrid.”

 

It seemed almost too easy, but Sam thought it was deceptively simple. “You’re right! Thank you, I really am dating the smartest guy ever,” Sam said, leaning in to give Quinn a peck. “I could kiss you.” Quinn kissed him right back.

 

“Here’s your fries,” Lana said, setting them on the table next to Sam and Quinn’s clasped hands. They jumped apart, and looked at Lana, both blushing bright red. 

 

“It’s ok,” Lana said, deadpanning. “You guys aren’t at work.” 

 

The meal was, as usual, delicious, and Sam and Quinn moved on to talking about less serious topics, like the new Avengers movie and if Sam was going to develop superpowers from the radiation at the power plant. Overall, a wonderfully pleasant evening. 


	7. Chapter 7

 

Astrid hadn’t been able to focus on anything but texting Diana today. She gave the courses she wanted to take a quick look, but hadn’t done any more than that. For once, Astrid wasn’t feeling anxious over college, she was texting her maybe-girlfriend.

 

Diana texted her first this time (sent a meme) and they were talking for a little while when, out of the blue, Diana asked Astrid if she wanted to get dinner together sometime this month. Astrid had told her she was free this Thursday, since that meant she would have five days to freak out over having dinner with Diana.

 

She texted Sam immediately after they figured everything out. So far, he was the only person she’d told about this, and he was a good listener. Also, he’d told her to call and get the tickets to the music festival where she _met_ Diana, so she kind of had to let him know.

 

The restaurant they were going to was a new one, a bit of a drive from Perdido. Diana told her she was seriously trying to avoid Caine, since he was possessive during their relationship. She worried that Caine would try to trap her in a relationship again.

 

_He was rly big on us as a couple. Like i couldn’t talk to another guy without him getting possessive_

 

_Good thing you broke up with him then_

 

_yeah . but i’m worried he’s going to try and get back together_

_So i’m gonna stay out of perdido as much as i can_

 

_Solid plan_

 

_Still gotta see him every day at work tho...and he’s acting all Butthurt about it_

 

_What a loser_

_He didn’t deserve you_

 

_He sure as hell didn’t. Didn’t even except that i’m bi_

_*accept_

 

_You should fire him_

_Can you do that?_

 

_Yeah but then i’d have to hire someone new. And management doesn’t trust me as new owner. I’m too stressed to deal with hiring a whole new person._

 

_Hire me_

_Wait don’t i have college_

 

_Ldskj;dlkj don’t worry babe i’ll just make sure he doesn’t pull any shit at work_

_If he dedicates a love song to me he’s getting his pay docked_

_And i’ll call HR on his ass_

 

_Lol he deserves a swift kick in the ass for being mean to you_

 

One thing about Diana that Astrid had noticed was that she was a very...flirtatious and open person. She couldn’t tell if Diana was like this around everyone, or just with her. It was quite confusing to Astrid, for whom flirting was a language more foreign than Mandarin Chinese. She had no idea whether or not Diana was acting flirtatious to be friendly or because she was _into_ into Astrid.

 

Although Astrid highly suspected that Diana wouldn’t be getting dinner with Astrid out of town if she wasn’t worried about Caine seeing them as a couple. Sam agreed when she told him the story over Facetime the Wednesday before the kind-of-maybe-date date.

 

“Honestly, you two have some kind of fairytale romance ahead of you that the rest of us can only dream of,” he said, chuckling a little.

 

Teasing, Astrid asked, “What about you and Quinn?”

 

“That is the exact opposite of a fairytale romance. We…”

 

“What?”

 

“Got together in a really weird way. Like, _really weird_. I’ll tell you the story sometime.”

 

He helped her get her outfit together, although he kept insisting that his fashion sense was terrible. Astrid told him that he didn’t spend all that time in the closet for nothing, and he admitted that she had a point.

 

The day of the date, Astrid tried her best to not stress out over seeing Diana, and mostly failed. She went over her outfit twenty more times, spent two hours trying out different makeup looks, and managed to sign up for a few courses online to maintain the semblance of a productive life before it was time to drive to the restaurant.

 

After a car drive where Astrid divided her thoughts between trying to drive and being nervous yet excited to meet up with Diana. Finally, she pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Astrid got out of her car and walked into the restaurant.

 

She took in the visual of the place as she approached. It was an environmentally-friendly place, serving mostly burgers. According to Diana’s texts, it was part of an up-and-coming chain, and had rave reviews across every foodie site online. It was all very L.A., but had a certain charm nonetheless. But more importantly, this was the place where Astrid and Diana were going to have their first date.

 

***

 

Diana tapped her foot against the tile floor of the restaurant. Her heeled shoes clacked against the tile, and Diana let the taps set a metronome to her very nervous thoughts. The reason she was in this preppy ecological place ten miles away from Perdido was an unusual one. It had the potential to be life-changing.

 

To Diana, the date _was_ a big deal for two reasons.

 

  1. Astrid Ellison, the person who had been occupying more than her fair share of Diana’s thoughts since they’d met.
  2. Girl. Date with a girl.



 

Yeah, Diana was bisexual. But that didn’t mean that she’d actually gone out with a girl. Diana had crushes on girls in the past. She’d held hands with them in a completely platonic way, and almost kissed one. But she had yet to go out on a date with someone who wasn’t a heterosexual male.

 

And it wasn’t just any girl. It was _Astrid_. The girl Caine, of all people, had first told her about. He’d mentioned that he’d visited his brother, and that “apparently some chick named Astrid has a crush on you. Lame, right.” It was less than a week after she’d come out to him, and he’d been trying to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible in her sexuality.

 

To show Caine that it _wasn’t_ lame, Diana asked to see the girl’s instagram. From that moment on, she was full on heart eyes everytime she thought about Astrid Ellison. She was hot as hell. Hypnotizing blue eyes, wavy blond hair that fell past her shoulders, and a smart-ass attitude that Diana found hopelessly attractive. She was witty, definitely single, and definitely already crushing on Diana. A catch, even though she’d only scrolled through Astrid’s profile.

 

Which would be a perfect scenario for Diana’s first date with a girl, except that she was dating Caine at the time. Diana had already been planning to break up with Caine, the asshat. Wanting to date Astrid was the perfect motivation for her to actually do it.

 

The original plan had been to slide into Astrid’s DMs and go from there, but then Astrid won the contest. Diana had a crisis when she switched off the microphone and realized she was going to get to meet the girl she’d been daydreaming about for week. She went into that music festival with sweaty palms and her left foot tapping on the floor like it was now.

 

And when they actually met...the idea of Astrid that Diana had in her head didn’t even start to live up to the reality. That first meeting, Astrid was nervous too, and even more gorgeous in person. They had so much in common with Diana that they felt like soulmates from just that one conversation. Texting Astrid was almost a little too much. The fact that Diana was becoming a part of Astrid’s daily life, someone she could talk to whenever, and that they texted almost constantly made Diana want to write a thousand love poems.

 

She did write _one_ love poem, just for herself, and the lines of it were looping around her head as she watched a figure approach the glass doors to the restaurant. Diana stood up, and walked towards Astrid, a little faster than she would normally go in these heels. Astrid opened the door and closed it behind her, a small smile playing on her face as she saw Diana.

 

“Hi,” Diana said, nearly speechless from well, Astrid.

 

She was wearing an off-the-shoulder satin top in a flattering blue, with some very tight black jeans. Her hair was down in waves, framing her face and shimmering blue eyes.

 

“Hi,” Astrid said, fiddling with her phone in her pocket. “Good to, uh, see you.” The few words from Astrid turned butterflies in Diana’s stomach into tigers.

 

“Let’s order, then get a seat,” Diana said, glancing up at the menu on the wall. “It’s not a traditional sit down place, sorry.” She’d considered something more formal for a second, but thought it would be better if the restaurant was casual.

 

“Oh, it’s fine,” Astrid said, “I don’t mind. I’m not really in the mood for a sit-down dinner anyways. At least here there isn’t an hour wait for a seat in the back next to a family with screaming kids.”

 

That broke the tension, and Astrid and Diana kept talking as they got in line. There were only twenty or so other people in the restaurant, and everything seemed very self-contained in the little green booths. They looked at the options on the menu, and Astrid ordered for both of them when they reached the counter.

 

Astrid suggested they take a booth in the back, far away from the lady gossiping to her friend quite loudly near the front of the restaurant. They sat and waited for their name to be called (Rosa Diaz, a la the confirmed bisexual character from Brooklyn 99), and Diana showed Astrid a new mobile game she’d gotten absolutely addicted to lately.

 

“It seems kind of stupid,” Astrid said, leaning over and looking at what appeared to be the fourteen thousandth iteration of a match-three.

 

“Well it _is,_ ” Diana said, “but you get these cute little creatures that you can level up, and they help you and give you little encouragements.” She pointed at a small bee on the screen. “That one’s called Serendipity, and she’s my favorite.”

 

“How many levels are there on this thing anyways?” Astrid asked. “Is there an end to the time-wasting?” It looked like candy crush, but with different colors.

 

Diana shrugged, unfazed by Astrid’s disappointment in her choices. “Oh, there’s about 600 or so, but there’s always new ones with every update.”

 

“So the time-wasting is infinite.”

 

“Basically, yeah. But I don’t play it unless I have everything done.”

 

Astrid raised her eyebrows. “When you have _everything_ done.”

 

“Ok, when I have mostly everything done,” Diana said, sighing, “I’m only human.”

 

“No wonder you’re so stressed with work, if you keep playing this thing,” Astrid said, shaking her head.

 

“Oh no, I’d still be stressed even if I didn’t have...distractions. It’s a lot of work.” Diana’s shoulders sank as she said it, enough for Astrid to take note and drop the topic.

 

They talked about school after that, until the food came. It was good, like a less greasy Burger King burger. For a few minutes, they stopped talking just to eat. All of the anxiety Astrid had before the date had made her hungry, so she finished off her burger and part of Diana’s. Diana didn’t mind at all.

 

Unlike Astrid, Diana lost her appetite when she got anxious. And it was hard to focus on anything like food when Astrid was _right there_ , laughing about how such a new, trendy place had actual decent food. She ate both of their chips.

 

As the sun went down in the sky, Diana and Astrid’s talk got more and more serious, closer to the mood of the festival or some of their texts. Being vulnerable was scary, but it felt right at the same time. They had to trust each other for this to last.

 

“Have you ever dated anyone before?” Diana asked, taking a sip of her soda. She’d normally leave the subject untouched on the very first date, but it was late, she was tired, and she couldn’t help asking.

 

Astrid didn’t seem to mind the question, though. “I dated this one guy for a few months sophomore year, but that was it. I’ve kind of been waiting for college to date. High school dating is so awkward.” Her eyes were glazed over slightly, probably from all that food.

 

“I can’t argue with you there,” Diana said, laughing, “I dated a few guys in highschool before Caine and yeah, it was so awkward. We’d hold hands with each other during class and everyone just kind of stared. Honestly, it wasn’t worth it. Some people make it work, but I never could.”

 

“Wow. I guess I didn’t miss out on much in the high school dating game. I always felt like all my friends were in relationships and I was the sad single one who had decided to wait,” Astrid said, smiling at the thought.

 

“Oh, I envied anyone who was single. It sounded like much more fun than constantly handling a boyfriend. They’re a lot of work,” Diana said, matter of fact.

 

“I wonder if having a girlfriend is less work,” Astrid said, “or even more. I’d like to find out, though.” She made eye contact with Diana for a second, then looked away.

 

“I mean...we could be girlfriends,” Diana began, “If you want, of course.” Acting on a sudden impulse, she leaned across the small table and took Astrid’s hand.

 

“I’d-I’d like that, yeah,” Astrid said, “You’re...you get me. And I’ve kind of had a major crush on you for a while, in case you didn’t know.” She giggled, somewhat self-consciously.

 

At that, they both laughed. “You’re sure?” Diana asked. This seemed a little too good to be true. She almost expected Caine to pop out from behind the booth with a camera and yell “SIKE.”

 

Astrid blushed. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure. Been thinking about this for a while lately, actually.”

 

“Me too,” Diana said, “Between stressing over the radio station, yeah, I’ve been thinking about you and I.”

 

“That’s cute,” Astrid said, her cheeks

 

“You’re cute,” Diana replied. “Actually, you’re so cute. Can I take a picture?”

 

“Go for it,” Astrid said, beaming, “Do I look good?”

 

Diana raised her phone and took a few pictures of Astrid looking absolutely _gorgeous_. “Yes, you do.”

 

They exchanged flirtatious remarks for a while, until Diana yawned and they parted ways. It was like a dream, something neither of them had thought would really happen. Too good to be true.

 

But it was real, and Diana sat in her parked car and looked at the photos she’d taken of Astrid, a smile on her face. She hovered over the button to post it to Instagram, but decided against it.

 

As much as she wanted to write a cute caption about how goddamn _lucky_ she was to be able to call someone like Astrid her girlfriend, it wasn’t worth the risk. There was Caine to deal with, and she had thousands of followers. News would spread fast, and Diana couldn’t risk being doxxed or getting public hate.

 

She checked her DMs. There were already a few bigots there, people who didn’t like to see a Latina girl running a company. The last thing she wanted was more, to drain all of her energy while she tried to understand their hatred.


	8. Chapter 8

 

_ Sam you are not going to believe what just happened _

_ Diana and i are gfs _

_ It’s official _

_ She’s coming over to my house sunday to hang out _

_ Is hang out code for make out _

_ Sammmmmmmmmm _

 

Astrid turned off her phone. Sam probably had bigger and better things to do than listen to her talk about Diana, but she hadn’t known who else to text. Astrid had told a few of her friends that there was a girl she had a massive crush on. Sam was the only person she’d told all the details, so she let him know first. 

 

She couldn’t wait, and she couldn’t believe it. Her and Diana had seemed like a one in a million chance, but now they were  _ in a relationship,  _ and Astrid was really excited about it. About an hour after the date, Diana had texted asking if she could come over on Sunday, her off day. Astrid, being the lovestruck idiot she was, had said yes.

 

The main problem facing her right now was that there really wasn’t anything she could think of to do for a date. There was nothing interesting to do at her house. Or in Perdido, actually. Diana lived here too, but she had a job, and used to go to high school in another town. She’d probably already seen all of the attractions Perdido had to offer.

 

They could watch something on the TV, but that was capital-B boring. There were a few restaurants in town, but Astrid knew that with Caine around, going to one of those was a bad idea. Movies could work, but she didn’t know what Diana was into, and it was going to be expensive as hell. As someone facing future student loan debt, that wasn’t a good idea. Astrid didn’t want to set a precedent of paying a lot on dates.

 

After spending a solid half hour wondering what she was going to do, it occured to Astrid to ask Sam. He had loads of practice sneaking around with Quinn, and Astrid knew they went on dates. Opening up her phone again to see that Sam had  _ not  _ texted back, Astrid typed out another message. 

 

_ I don’t just wanna hang out at my house though. Do you know any good places for a date that are...private? Bc Caine could still be an issue.  _

 

Finally, the little gray dots showed up on the screen. Sam was typing.

 

_ Lucky you. I have to deal w her ex tomorrow night for “family time.” There’s this cool little diner called the healing place near the beach. I know the person who runs it she’s totally awesome and has a gf herself so she’s cool w everyone. _

_ Hold on lemme send you the website.  _

_ thehealingplaceofperdido.com/manager _

 

_ Thank u for finally responding.  _

_ I’ll look into that place _

_ Bc i don’t have any better ideas _

 

Astrid clicked on the link to find a cheekily written profile of a Lana Arwen Lazar. 

 

_ Named for Superman’s girlfriend and the elf from the Lord of the Rings, Lana Arwen Lazar runs the sad place near the beach known as  _ The Healing Place.  _ While the name suggests otherwise, no, we do not sell weed or offer bogus spiritual treatments. It’s a diner, in an old 50s style, run by Lana and staffed by many people, most of which are gay. Since it’s Lana’s favorite(read:easy to make), we serve typical American fare with enough cholesterol and sugar to give you a heart attack. Enjoy burgers, hot dogs, and salad (for the freaks), and loads of onion rings and french fries. If you would like healthier options, we can accommodate dietary restrictions in general, but if you’re on some weird supermodel diet go somewhere else. Lana primarily works with her girlfriend (Dekka), her boyfriend (Sanjit), and her dog (Patrick) to keep the restaurant running. Unfortunately, Patrick cannot be in the restaurant as he is a health hazard, but he supports from home just fine. Lana is 21, and considers herself a fourteen-year-old with a driver’s license and a drinking permit. She has kept the restaurant running for three years and intends to keep it from running away from her.  _

 

Well, Astrid could certainly see why Sam liked going there. It looked cool, and quite proudly a safe space for everyone. She plugged the restaurant name into Google and found three articles about it being a great place to go if you were gay (one calling it “a piece of accepting Los Angeles in a small California town), and many posts and tweets about how good of a place it was. 

 

As one reviewer said, “The food is shit, but it’s the only place I can go on a date with my partner and not get stares.” 

 

It was Astrid’s best bet for a place to take her  _ girlfriend  _ on a date, since she didn’t want to try and find someplace out of town like Diana had. Also, she trusted Sam’s recommendation. 

 

_ Ok healing place looks rlly good i think i’ll take her there _

_ Good luck w the evil twin (caine) _

 

She should probably run this past Diana too. Maybe she would just want to hang around and talk at her house, not go out to eat again. She should probably ask. Astrid sent another text, this one to Diana.

 

_ Hey, do you wanna get dinner together this sunday? I know a cool place. _

 

Diana texted back in seconds. 

 

_ Yeah sure I’m down _

_ It’s private tho right _

 

_ Yeah dw. Owner is gay. _

 

_ Thank god for gays _

_ I’m really excited now _

_ Brb i gotta go on air ya girl is still technically a dj _

 

Astrid smiled down at her phone. She was excited too. 

 

***

 

Never in his life did Sam think he would be protecting his friend’s safety by looking at reviews for dating apps. He’d checked the obvious-tinder, okcupid, match-but had decided that, unfortunately, Caine probably already used those. 

 

Caine couldn’t just be a regular bitch, he had to be a horny bitch. Sam focused on apps that were for the general area, and for a younger audience. So far, it was a lot of people either saying they had met the love of their life on the app and had amazing sex, or that they had been harassed horribly by middle-aged men sending excessive dick pics. There was no middle ground in sight.

 

It really didn’t matter what app it was, the reviews were basically the same. There were a few that were romance and relationship centered, and several that matched people up based on various attributes. They were all kind of the same, so Sam moved on to IRL dating. 

 

He made up a list of people he knew that could possibly enter a relationship with Caine. Sam felt a little guilty for wanting to put another girl through what happened to Diana, but he also knew that there had to be a perfect match for Caine somewhere. Even someone as soulless as Caine had to have a soulmate. 

 

Also, knowing Caine’s track record, he would break up with them in a few months anyways. Maybe even go to college to get a girlfriend. Somehow, Caine had finessed himself an all-expenses-paid scholarship to any college of his choice. He was still looking for a college, and didn’t look set on deciding anytime soon. Sam was slightly jealous, since he was still looking for a job to support Connie.

 

Maybe if Sam pissed Caine off enough he would leave for a college across the country and they would never see each other again. But Sam doubted it would actually happen, Caine liked the little hold of power he had over Perdido. 

 

The wild card at tomorrow night’s family dinner was going to be Connie Temple. She was always nice to Caine, fussing over him and asking him all sorts of questions about his life and how things were going. The perfect estranged mother, but she also became strange with Caine in the house, telling him he looked like his father. Oftentimes, she left the dinner table crying. 

Caine knew how he affected the family dynamic in that house, and he was pleased with it, Sam knew. The more distraught Connie was, the more she blamed Sam. And the less happy Sam was, the happier Caine became.

 

This was going to be  _ hard. _


	9. Chapter 9

“Oh Caine, so good to have you over!” Sam’s mom greeted Caine at the door, her face full of forced cheeriness. Sam stood in the entranceway, giving Caine a small wave. 

 

Taking notice of his birth mother’s terrible acting, but smiling anyways, Caine replied with a, “Well, I’m happy to be here.” He shook her hand and walked into the house. 

 

“Hey bro,” Caine said to Sam, giving him a fist bump that felt a little more like a punch. Sam sighed. This was how tonight was going to go. 

 

Connie fussed over Caine, pushing a plate of appetizers at him and taking his coat off and hanging it in the closet. Standing in the kitchen, looking on, Sam watched the scene. How Caine was jealous of Sam when their mother treated Caine like this, Sam didn’t know. No matter how long it had been since the last “family bonding” dinner, Connie always treated Caine the same.

 

It had been three troubled years since Caine had come into their lives. Sam remembered the day that Connie had come home from work and told him that his brother had come into her office that day. She was working at Coates Academy, a private school for troubled rich kids. 

 

That day, a Tuesday, was the first time Sam had seen his mother that shaken, but it wouldn’t be the last. In a casual tone, as if they were discussing the weather, she had told him that she had an affair around the time she’d conceived Sam and Caine.  She said that the man she had the affair with was a “more appealing character,” and that she’d felt awful for going behind her husband’s back. Then, she’d said the line that Sam remembered to this day:

 

“I saw David-Caine in the hospital, and he looked so much like him, like the mistake I’d made, that I couldn’t keep him. I kept you, and put him up for adoption.”

 

Sam was recently fifteen, a freshman still worrying about whether or not the girl sitting next to him in Algebra liked him, while failing to realize he had a crush on the guy in Biology. The news that a)his mother had an affair, and b)he had a brother he didn’t know about before then, was a lot. Then, Caine walked through their doorway to meet them all, much like he did today, for that disastrous first meeting. Sam had almost entirely blocked out that memory, but sometimes bits resurfaced just to taunt him.

 

Connie sat Caine down at the table, and asked him if he needed anything. Unprompted, Sam sat down across from his brother while his mother disappeared into the kitchen. 

 

Funny, he’d stopped seeing her as his mom when he learned about Caine. Now, whenever he thought about his mother, she was Connie, and sometimes Constance. 

 

But he couldn’t think about that right now. Sam had to convince Caine into getting over Diana. 

 

“Have you heard about this stupid new dating app?” Sam asked, showing Caine his phone screen. Reverse psychology was the sort of thing you would normally use on, say, five year olds, but it worked very well on Caine, who could be counted on to disagree with him on literally everything. It was the closest thing to a normal sibling relationship that they had. 

 

“Yeah,” Caine said, blatantly lying, “It’s really cool, isn’t it. I got so many hot girls out of it.”   
  


“Who?” Sam asked, not missing how his brother gave the app a double take. “And why would anyone want to get with you?”

 

Caine fell silent, and glared at Sam, acting deeply offended. “My good looks, which you clearly did not get.”

 

Oh, this was perfect. Instead of shutting Sam down, Caine was taking the bait. “Prove it then,” Sam said, “Next time you come over here, bring your new girlfriend.”

 

“Maybe I will,” Caine said, playing with his silver napkin ring. “I’ll get Diana to come with me. She’s going to get back together with me sooner or later, you know. So long as your Astrid stays far, far away…” Caine glared at Sam from across the table. 

 

While the more panicky part of Sam was screaming  _ ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION _ , the logical part knew it was just time for a different approach. The one thing Sam had going in his favor was that Caine was an absolute dumbass when it came to girls, and had no idea how it actually worked. 

 

Sam leaned forward on the table, almost conspiratorially, towards Caine. “I think you need to make Diana jealous in order to get her to come back.”

“That’s actually not an awful idea, little bro,” Caine said, considering what Sam had said, “I’m surprised you were smart enough to come up with it.”

Normally, Sam would be offended (Caine was only older by two minutes), but Caine was playing right into his trap. “I’m full of surprises. So, next time you come over, you bring the new girlfriend?”

“Oh yeah, it’s on. Maybe you should bring a girlfriend of your own too,” Caine said, “But I know you’re not gonna.” He smiled, but it was more of a grimace.

Connie walked back into the room, with a casserole pan held in shaking oven mitts. She set the lasagna down on the table, then sat down at the head of the table.

She looked down, then immediately got back up. “Oh! I forgot the plates and forks. Sorry, Caine, I’ll get them in just a second.” Connie went back into the kitchen, and Caine and Sam shared a moment of awkward silence.

“Connie’s not doing too great, is she,” Caine said, more of a statement than a question. He almost looked…concerned.

“No. It’s the trial.”

A crash came from the kitchen, then their mother’s, “It’s ok, it’s just the silverware drawer!”

“Well, hopefully she’ll do better after,” Caine said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then Connie re-emerged from the kitchen, holding the plates and forks. She set the table quickly yet clumsily, putting the plates down with a little too much force, and sent the forks clanging against the plates.

They sat down and ate. As Constance and Caine talked (or, rather, Connie interrogated her son), Sam learned that Caine was taking a gap year before college, he was doing volunteer hours at a local animal shelter, and he was getting his own apartment soon. One of those things was definitely a lie, and Sam had to wonder where Caine was getting the money for an apartment from.

Probably more blackmail. It  _ was  _ Caine’s signature move. Speaking of which, it was going to take a while before Caine was  _ over  _ over Diana. Sam might need to warn Astrid and Diana sooner rather than later, especially when his current plan for getting Caine over Diana could easily fall through. He could only hope that there was someone on a dating app that was Caine’s perfect match. Or at least someone that Caine got so wrapped up in he forgot about Diana. Which was a bit of a long shot, since he was already quite wrapped up in Diana.

While fake-laughing at one of Connie’s jokes, Caine reached for a glass of water that wasn’t there.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry,” she said, eyes going wide. “I’ll get some more immediately. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Don’t worry, I can go get them,” Sam said, getting out of his chair before she could. He didn’t really want to sit at the table any more and listen to Caine tell pretty lies. Also, Connie was getting frazzled from being around Caine, she always tried too hard.

He was at the glasses cabinet when he heard his mother say, just loud enough for him to hear it, “What would I do without you, Sam? I’m too tired to get more cups.”

The effect of the statement was immediate. Caine flinched and put down his fork. Sam froze, his hand an inch from a green-tinted glass. Connie put her head in her hands.

His first thought upon stopping was that the glasses were a wedding gift. The second was that  _ Connie hadn’t actually said that, had she?  _ It was a dangerous thing to say at dinner with your two sons. One of which you’d put up for adoption without a second thought.

Caine cleared his throat. “Well, I should get going. Thank you for the lasagna, Ms. Temple, but I’ve gotta go. Hot date tonight. I’ll take her by someday.” He got up and left before Sam or Connie could think to move, taking his coat from the closet as he left.

The front door shut. Sam grabbed two glasses and filled them at the sink, then walked back to the table slowly, so as not to spill. Tears were running down Connie’s face, and she wiped her eyes with a napkin.

Sam set one glass down in front of her plate. “Here’s your water, Mom.” He placed his own glass on the table, then sat down.

“He keeps leaving,” she said, looking up at the ceiling. “I try to get him to stay but he keeps leaving.” Her chin quivered, and a tear made a lonely line down her cheek.

“It’s gonna be ok,” Sam said, “It’s just been hard for him lately. Leaving Coates, going into the adult world. He’s just going through some changes.” It was the first time Caine had left like that, usually he waited out the evening and left at ten o’clock. The break of routine was breaking Connie.

“Maybe he could talk to me about those changes,” Connie said, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. “I’m his mother. He should trust me.”

Sam said nothing. There was nothing he could say that would make her feel better.

“Caine didn’t even finish his food,” she said, bursting into another round of tears.

“He’ll come back,” Sam said, putting an arm on her shoulder to console his mother. “He’ll come back for a full meal next time. Just let him be. Let him take his time.” It hurt to tell her lies, when Caine never stopped holding a grudge against anyone. Even his own mother.

His mother cried for a long time. She didn’t touch her food, so eventually Sam took it away from the table and threw it out. He boxed up the rest for leftovers. At one point, she looked down at the glass of water Sam had put there, and burst into more tears.

He cleared the table completely, leaving his mom where she was. Eventually, she stopped crying and stared off into space instead.

“I’m going to get to bed,” Connie said, not moving.

“Ok.” That was his cue to leave. Sam went into his room and turned on his phone. He pulled up his text conversations with Caine and typed out a new message.

_ You can’t just leave like that _

Caine’s read receipt popped up, but he didn’t reply.

**Author's Note:**

> heyo whatsup guys i hope u liked the chapter, feel free to dangle a kudos or comment somewhere in my vicinity so I can snap at it like a starving fish in a lake full of toxic chemicals. so i might be the most inconsistent person on the planet when it comes to updating this so like subscribe and ao3 will let you know. or join my tumblr taglist. either works.


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